Jean Sebastian Giguere — Ducks mighty goalie
His nickname on the team is “Jiggy.” Jean-Sebastian Giguere of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim isn’t a household name right now, but at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he just might be? Here’s why.
In 1986, a nine-year-old boy was watching the hockey playoffs with some of his little friends.
The Montreal Canadiens were on and the kids were glued to the TV set, but that was nothing new, after all this was Montreal.
At that time, they were glued mostly to the Canadiens’ 18-year-old rookie goalie, one Patrick Roy.
The nine-year-old boy wasn’t really a fan of the Canadiens, but all that changed.
Jean Sebastian Giguere was a goalie, but he wasn’t that serious about goaltending. After all, he began playing goalie at the age of five, not because he wanted to or his parents made him.
He liked playing goalie because “the equipment was nice.”
After watching the exploits of Roy on TV, little J.S., like thousands of little boys growing up in French Canada, wanted to be just like his idol.
He began taking being a goalie a little bit more serious, or as serious as any nine-year-old boy could.
Fast forward 17 years and Giguere he is the goalie in the net for the Mighty Ducks, which future goalies in Orange County, California, want to emulate.
Little J.S.-wannabes aren’t the only hockey people noticing. The rest of the NHL is noticing, too.
J.S. doesn’t have that wide-eyed innocence he had while watching his idol on Hockey Night in Canada. No, “Jiggy,” which is the nickname he goes by, is trying to bring a Stanley Cup home to Anaheim.
Winning a Stanley Cup has been priority No. 1 one for him ever since he was drafted by the Hartford Whalers, who are now known as the Carolina Hurricanes.
Then he was sent to Calgary, from which the Mighty Ducks basically “stole” him for next to nothing.
In spite of the Mighty Ducks poor season in 2001-2002, Giguere was the fifth best goalie in the league. He can only get better.
While he doesn’t have the athletic ability of former Detroit Red Wings goalie, Domenick Hasek, you won’t see him attempting to score any empty net goals like the New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur.
You also won’t see him having a conversation with his goalposts like Patrick Roy.
However, what you will find in Giguere is a “blue collar” goaltender who isn’t flashy, but just gets his job done.
